Madison East over Madison Lafollette

I never wrote about the Waunakee verse Baraboo game I went to because the game was a blowout and I never really got into the game because I got to the game late, missed the first quarter, had to stand for the second quarter, and I didn't keep score for players. Due to those things and that the game was never closed I didn't feel that there was much to write about the game. Waunakee won by 38 points and looked great while Baraboo on the other hand looked terrible.

The East verse Lafollette games are always high intensity game with high fan involvement, due to the fact that the schools are so close together. This game was no different even though Lafollette has had a sub par year. Lafollette came out extremely intense and was able to grab the lead early and had that lead for almost the first three quarters before East star 6'4 junior Marquis Mason was able to take control of the game and East was able to eventually come out on top.

As I mentioned earlier Lafollette came out very strong led by their star 5'11 junior DJ Fuller. Fuller knocking everything down and couldn't miss in the first half and Lafollette's defense was locking down, specifically on Mason. East was very persistent in looking for Mason in the post but, Lafollette did a great job of doubling down on Mason and not letting him get things going. The biggest key to the defense was the play of Lafollette back up center 6'7 junior Jaren Singh who didn't score much but, did a great job of keeping Mason away from the basket. The other key to Lafollette's first half lead was their offensive rebound as all five guys seemed to be going for the rebounds and were able to get some easy second chance baskets. The only problem Lafollette had in the first half is that they didn't put East away and let them hang around, as the half time score was Lafollette 28, East 21.

Just like the last few games I've seen East play, they decided to go to their bench to make their second half run. Their bench led by 5'10 junior DeAndre Galligan were keys to the East come back. What hurt Lafollette the most was that the lead man Fuller went completely cold which can be attributed to the strong defense of East senior 6'0 Yamil Bacallao who was in Fullers face all night and was probably the key reason the East won this game. In the end East just had more weapons then Lafollette and when the one man team of Fuller wasn't working Lafollette had no one to turn to. East got the hard fought 62-51 win.

Top Players
DJ Fuller 5'11 junior Madison Lafollette- He was the team in the first half and he couldn't miss. Has a great mid range jumper and can get his shot at any time off the dribble. May shoot a little too much.
Chris Redman 6'3 senior Madison Lafollette- Not a big time scoring night but, Redman really made is impact on the glass as he seemed to be getting every rebound for Lafollette. When Redman fouled out with about three minutes left the game was pretty much over.
Marquis Mason 6'4 junior Madison East- Had a tough night in the paint but, still finished with 18 points and had three big blocks.
DeAndre Galligan 5'10 junior Madison East- Becoming old hat with Galligan coming off the bench and getting double digit points.
Yamil Bacallao 6'0 senior Madison East- I mentioned his great defense and how he may of been the biggest reason for East's win but, he also got 12 of his own points.

Box Score
Madison Lafollette 51- Fuller 17 Marcus Henly 9 Redman 8 Lucas DuBois 6 Singh 6 Brett Klinkner 5 Jon Dybevik 0 Ryan Waeffler 0 Chris Padgett 0
Madison East 62- Mason 18 Bacallao 12 Galligan 12 Nimrod Hilliard 7 Marcel Terry 6 Jeff Hull 5 Drew McAdams 2 Stafford Park 0 James Bartelt 0

Right now there has to be some concern for Madison East as the last few games they've come out very slow and with Madison Memorial coming up this week is not a good thing. Memorial is such a good team and play at such a high tempo that they will jump all over you early if you don't come to play and may have such a big lead that East wouldn't be able to overcome it and may get run out of the gym.

As far as Madison Lafollette they look like a pretty good team every time I see them and I'm just amazed that their record is so poor. They strike me as a team to keep an eye on and may upset some people come playoff time and make a solid run in the playoffs.